Apple Inc posted stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter, giving new chief executive John Ternus an upbeat start to his tenure, which began in September. The result for the company, which earned $30.71 billion and exceeded analysts’ expectations, bucked a downward trend for tech firms. Apple also posted stronger-than-expected revenue in the fiscal third quarter.
The Cupertino-based group’s $30.71 billion profit for the fiscal third quarter therefore stood above the level implied by the $1.99-a-share average forecast. The five cents a share from tariff refunds was included in those earnings, according to the company. The result exceeded analysts’ expectations and ran counter to a downward trend for tech firms.
The Cupertino, California-based company earned $30.71 billion, or $2.10 a share, in the July-September period. That is up 12 percent from $27.47 billion, or $1.85 a share, in the same period a year earlier. The year-on-year rise in profit formed part of the first quarterly report issued under Ternus.
The beat on per-share profit against the FactSet consensus, together with the 12 percent increase from the year-earlier $27.47 billion, or $1.85 a share, marked Ternus’s first quarterly report as chief executive. Apple’s figures for the July-September period thus combined a stronger-than-expected showing on earnings with stronger-than-expected revenue.
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.99 a share on revenue of $113.4 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. The reported $2.10 a share exceeded that average earnings estimate. The company said the latest earnings included five cents a share from tariff refunds.